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UNICEF welcomes minimum age requirements for UN peace-keepers

Under this new order, the Secretary General has asked contributing governments not to send civilian police and military observers under the age of 25 to serve in peace-keeping operations and has asked that national contingent troops should preferably be 21 years, but not less than 18.

"This is a major breakthrough for children's rights," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy.

"The decision is a boost for international efforts to adopt an optional protocol to the CRC which raises to 18 the minimum age for children's recruitment in armed forces and participation in hostilities."

Today, an estimated 300,000 child soldiers participate in armed conflicts around the world. UNICEF has urged that governments and all armed groups immediately demobilise these children. UNICEF's field programmes in countries such as Sierra Leone and Rwanda support programmes to prevent children's recruitment and to ensure their demobilisation and reintegration into society.

UNICEF believes that this new standard should be complemented by specialised training on child rights of personnel involved in peacemaking, peace-keeping and peace building, as recently called for by the Security Council.

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